Global Mapping Of Low Vision Models And Services In Developed And Developing Countries
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$43,270.00
Summary
This research will contribute to existing models and identify critical factors associated with effective low vision models of care and delivery of services globally. Factors such as coverage, access, equity, and barriers to care delivery will be examined. Relevant stakeholders such as the World Health Organization Low Vision Working Group and Non-Government Organizations will be able to use this data to set priorities for its work plan, training, program development and low vision advocacy.
Certain Death In Uncertain Time: A Qualitative Study Of The Experience Of Advanced Ovarian Cancer.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$221,755.00
Summary
Modern medicine aims to find effective treatments for life-threatening diseases. Cures are seldom found, however. More typically, rapidly fatal diseases gradually become less rapidly fatal. Consequently, there is a category of patients who are certain they will die from their disease or a related factor, but who are equally uncertain as to whether they have weeks or years left to live. It is difficult to discuss this predicament because we do not even have a name for it, let alone a useful termi ....Modern medicine aims to find effective treatments for life-threatening diseases. Cures are seldom found, however. More typically, rapidly fatal diseases gradually become less rapidly fatal. Consequently, there is a category of patients who are certain they will die from their disease or a related factor, but who are equally uncertain as to whether they have weeks or years left to live. It is difficult to discuss this predicament because we do not even have a name for it, let alone a useful terminology to describe it. The absence of discussion exacerbates patients' social isolation. Also, the quality of their remaining life, and the quality of the care they get, depends heavily on the quality of understanding and communication within the social systems that support them. A growing proportion of patients in developed countries fall into this category, including the 1200 Australian women who are diagnosed each year with advanced ovarian cancer. This study aims to increase our understanding of the experience of certain death in uncertain time by recruiting a group of 20 women with advanced ovarian cancer, and interviewing them every few months over three years. The study will explore all aspects of the experience of having advanced ovarian cancer, and generate a terminology for it - one that grows out of the women's own language. The study will inform the organisation and delivery of clinical care and services to women with ovarian cancer. It will also inform patient education programs, and help to tune medical education to the particular needs and perceptions of patients who are experiencing the certainty of death in uncertain time. Finally, the researchers will also explore the implications of the findings for medical ethics and health law, and for communication, information and decision-making in cancer medicine.Read moreRead less
Structure And Function Of The Third Geniculocortical Pathway In Primates.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$296,777.00
Summary
Our understanding of the human visual system has been based on the idea that there are two main nerve pathways from the eye to the brain. One, called the parvocellular pathway, is for colour and detail vision, and the other, called the magnocellular pathway, is for movement perception. Damage to either pathway by disease such as glaucoma, or a lesion such as stroke, will cause specific changes in visual perception and these changes can be used to diagnose the nature of the disease or lesion. We ....Our understanding of the human visual system has been based on the idea that there are two main nerve pathways from the eye to the brain. One, called the parvocellular pathway, is for colour and detail vision, and the other, called the magnocellular pathway, is for movement perception. Damage to either pathway by disease such as glaucoma, or a lesion such as stroke, will cause specific changes in visual perception and these changes can be used to diagnose the nature of the disease or lesion. We will study a recently recognised third subdivision of the visual pathway, called the koniocellular pathway. The properties of koniocellular cells have not previously been studied in anthropoid primates, and their importance for human vision is not well understood. We will study the way that koniocellular cells respond to moving and patterned stimuli, and their connections with the cerebral cortex, in order to determine whether this pathway could contribute to aspects of normal and abnormal visual perception. We will follow up our preliminary evidence that koniocellular cells respond to visual stimuli of the type used to diagnose the early stages of eye diseases such as glaucoma. The results will give us a better understanding of the way that the nervous system processes visual information, and will clarify the basis of disturbances to normal visual function.Read moreRead less
Targeting At Risk Relatives Of Glaucoma Patients For Early Diagnosis And Treatment (TARRGET)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$595,375.00
Summary
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in Australia but early detection and treatment can prevent blindness. We will recruit patients with advanced glaucoma from an Australia wide registry and refer their close relatives to have an eye exam and genetic testing to see if they are at risk of glaucoma. We will evaluate how a coordinator can improve the uptake of this screening program referring people to local eye care providers and in rural WA providing screening in 16 remote locations.
Origin And Specificity Of Neuronal Signals For Colour Vision In Primates.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$490,500.00
Summary
How do we see colours? What do colour blind people see? Although colour is one of the most important attributes of objects in the visual world, the way that colour is processed in the brain is poorly understood. The aim of this project is to study the way that nerve cells in the eye (the retina) and the visual part of the brain are specialised to transmit signals for colour perception. The visual system of humans and other primates includes nerve cells which are selective for a limited range of ....How do we see colours? What do colour blind people see? Although colour is one of the most important attributes of objects in the visual world, the way that colour is processed in the brain is poorly understood. The aim of this project is to study the way that nerve cells in the eye (the retina) and the visual part of the brain are specialised to transmit signals for colour perception. The visual system of humans and other primates includes nerve cells which are selective for a limited range of wavelengths reflected by objects in the visual world. We will study how this selectivity is generated, by examining how the colour receptors are connected within the retina to the cells which transmit nerve impulses to the brain. Between 5 and 7 percent of male humans have colour vision defects. Many objects which appear clearly different to colour-normal observers cannot be discriminated by colour-defective observers, and entry to professions such as the police and airline industry is restricted for individuals with colour vision defects. We will study the basis of reduced colour perception ability in red-green colour blindness. This will be done by measuring the responses of nerve cells in a species of primate (marmoset) in which many animals have colour vision receptors resembling those of humans with colour vision defects. We will measure the reliability with which individual neurones can transmit signals for colour vision when they receive input from such abnormal receptors. It is known that nerve cells transmit their message within the brain by means of brief electrical impulses called action potentials. In addition to studying the basis of human colour discrimination, the project also addresses one of the fundamental questions of sensory processing, by studying the reliability of the coded message carried by action potentials within the central nervous system.Read moreRead less
3D Diffusion Models for Generating and Understanding 3D Scenes. Diffusion models, such as DALL-E2 and Imagen, have achieved remarkable success in generating photorealistic images and hold promise to solve long-standing computer vision problems. However, 3D scene generation remains unexplored. This research project aims to bridge the gap by developing 3D diffusion models capable of generating complete 3D scenes. This will advance our theoretical understanding of diffusion in complex 3D environmen ....3D Diffusion Models for Generating and Understanding 3D Scenes. Diffusion models, such as DALL-E2 and Imagen, have achieved remarkable success in generating photorealistic images and hold promise to solve long-standing computer vision problems. However, 3D scene generation remains unexplored. This research project aims to bridge the gap by developing 3D diffusion models capable of generating complete 3D scenes. This will advance our theoretical understanding of diffusion in complex 3D environments and open up new possibilities for applications in fields such as virtual reality, architecture, and city planning. The proposed 3D diffusion models will also enhance the accuracy of computer vision tasks related to 3D scene understanding, such as object detection, tracking, and semantic segmentation.Read moreRead less
Myopia And Colour Vision: Potential Impact Of Colour Vision Gene Variation On Susceptibility To Myopia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$227,947.00
Summary
The frequency of myopia has shown a rapid increase in recent years but the underlying cause remains largely unknown. Our recent work on severe myopia with dichromacy has indicated that some forms of myopia may arise through changes in cone visual pigments and the arrangement of cone photoreceptors in the retina which impact on the feedback loop between image formation and eye elongation. This study seeks to explore this link in detail in myopia patients that possess normal colour vision.